Seal



Dec. 13, 1933. F. KEIDEL 2,140,320

SEAL

Filed Feb. 3, 1958 INVENTQR WWW ATTORNEYS Patented Dec. 13, 1938 PATENT OFFIQE SEAL Frank Keidel, New York, N. Y., assignor to The International Seal and Knot Protector Cot, New York, N. Y., a. corporation of New York Application February 3, 1938, Serial No. 188,447

1 Claim.

This invention relates to that type of seal which includes a shackle and a hollow seal body for receiving the ends of the shackle and retaining them therein in locked position.

More specifically the present invention constitutes an improvement in the type of seal disclosed in my prior Patents 1,930,560 and 2,006,051.

The specific forms illustrated in said patents include a seal body formed from a pair of cup like members, telescoped and interlocked to provide a casing for a locking plate permitting the passage of shackle ends therethrough in one direction while positively preventing their withdrawal. The shackle is preferably in the form of a wire which passes through apertures in an end wall of the casing and through apertures in the locking plate, and retained against withdrawal by spring tongues struck out from the plate in such a direction that they permit movement of the shackle through the plate openings in only one direction.

While the construction of the prior patents has proven very effective in use, the present invention has for its object to provide means for more securely joining the cups together, more efiectively preventing their separation and strengthening both of them against distortion.

As an important feature of the present invention there is provided a locking-lip connection between the outer and inner cups which will prevent separation of the cups unless there be such mutilation thereof as will insure ready detection.

Another object is to produce a seal with a stronger body which cannot be readily crushed or bent out of shape and to do this without increasing the thickness and weight of the metal from which the seals are made.

The invention may be more fully understood from the following description in connection with the accompanying drawing wherein:

Fig. l is a perspective view of a seal with the shackle ends locked in position.

Fig, 2 is a central longitudinal section in the plane of the shackle; and

Fig. 3 is a sectional view of the seal before the cup members are locked together and before the shackle is inserted therein.

The seal body includes a pair of cup-like members adapted to telescope together toform a closed casing. The outer cup I is adapted to receive the inner cup 2. A locking plate 3 and an anti-twist plate 4 of hard metal are held in position between the inner edge of inner cup 2 and a shoulder 5 formed on the outer cup A U-shaped shackle 6 of substantially rectangular cross-section is adapted to be inserted through the end wall of the outer cup I, and plates 3 and 4 and to be locked within the casing of the seal by locking plate 3. To accomplish this the end wall of the cup I has a pair of apertures and 8 and the anti-twist plate 4 has a similar pair of apertures 9 and I registering therewith. The locking plate 3 is preferably of thin spring steel and has a pair of spaced apertures l2 and I3 positioned to register with the apertures above referred to and formed by pressing out portions of the plate 3 to form a pair of locking tongues l4 and 15 at each opening. The shackle is preferably made of softer material than the spring lips l4 and I so that the lips actually form an indentation in the shackle if there be a pull on the shackle. The greater the strain on the shackle to withdraw it the firmer the lips will dig into and engage it. Therefore, it is not necessary to preform grooves in the shackle. The parts so far described may be the same as or diiierent from the construction shown in my Patent 2,006,051, above referred to.

In order to lock the outer and inner cups l and 2 together to form a closed casing the inner cup is furnished with an annular shoulder l6 formed by making the part adjacent to the end wall of cup 2 of smaller diameter than the main body of the peripheral wall. The cups are locked together by turning in the marginal portion I! of cup i to form a reverse bend so that the edge 29 abuts the shoulder l6 as shown in Fig. 2.

The shoulder It may be made flat or it may be slightly inclined so as to form a slight recess to receive the inturned edge 20. With the latter construction it is somewhat more difficult to separate the two cups, but either construction is quite effective for the purpose intended.

A U-shaped shackle 6 herein shown as of substantially rectangular cross-section has legs l8 and it spaced apart the same distance as the apertures l and 8 so that they may be introduced therein and pressed down through the plates 3 and i so that they will be engaged by the spring lips E4 and IE to prevent withdrawal thereof.

By reason of the reverse bend on the edge of the wall of the outer cup, the edge portion will, in effect, be of double thickness to give it greater strength. As the free edge 20 of the metal is down in the groove between the bend 2| and the wall portion 22 of the inner cup, it is practically impossible to get any kind of a tool down into the groove to engage the edge of the metal and bend it up and out to the original position shown in Fig. 3. The inturning may be by spinning or other suitable machine operation. It is practically impossible to stretch the entire bend of double thickness outwardly in a radial direction to permit separation of the cups and release of the shackle.

The shackle may be roughened, corrugated or notched as shown in my prior Patent Number 2,006,051, but this is not necessary if the shackle is of softer material than the lips I4 and I5 which is commonly the case because the spring steel lips are necessarily relatively hard.

The inturned edge l1 and the shoulder I6 form a construction which imparts great strength to the casing of the seal so that even though the cups be made of relatively light metal they can withstand a considerably crushing force without being permanently distorted.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

A sealing device of the class described, including a shackle, and a seal casing made up of an outer cup, an inner cup having a peripheral wall slidable within the other cup, and locking means for retaining said shackle within said casing, the outer end portion of said inner cup being of smaller diameter than the body of the cup whereby the latter 'presents an axially facing shoulder adjacent to but spaced from the end wall of said inner cup, and the free edge portion of the peripheral wall of said outer cup being bent inwardly and engaging said shoulder below said end wall and with its edge abutting the peripheral wall of said end portion of the inner cup.

FRANK KEIDEL. 

